Whitethorn Woods

Book Description

Maeve Binchy once again brings us an enchanting book full of the wit, warmth, and wisdom that have made her one of the most beloved and widely read writers at work today.

When a new highway threatens to bypass the town of Rossmore and cut through Whitethorn Woods, everyone has a passionate opinion about whether the town will benefit or suffer. But young Father Flynn is most concerned with the fate of St. Ann’s Well, which is set at the edge of the woods and slated for destruction. People have been coming to St. Ann’s for generations to share their dreams and fears, and speak their prayers. Some believe it to be a place of true spiritual power, demanding protection; others think it’s a mere magnet for superstitions, easily sacrificed. Not knowing which faction to favor, Father Flynn listens to all those caught up in the conflict, and these are the voices we hear in the stories of Whitethorn Woods—men and women deciding between the traditions of the past and the promises of the future, ordinary people brought vividly to life by Binchy’s generosity and empathy, and in the vivacity and surprise of her storytelling.

Maeve Binchy is at the very top of her form in this irresistible tale.

Customer Reviews:

Single Voices Combine To Tell the Story.......2007-09-09

Maeve Binchy is one of my favorite authors and is extraordinarily gifted in telling stories in an amazingly inviting manner. Each chapter of Whitethorn Woods is told from the perspective of someone who either lives in or has a connection to Rossmore, a small town in Ireland. As she has done with some of her previous books, the chapters are each almost a short story in themselves. Characters (written in her charmingly warm and descriptive style) from each chapter intertwine and collectively tell the story.

The many individual voices from each chapter gives you insights and nuances you would not have if told from the perspective of one or two people. The end result is that the story was more about the people of the town of Rossmore - with the plot line actually becoming secondary - and I felt almost as if I'd visited the town and it's citizens by the conclusion of the book. Goodness usually prevails in Maeve Binchy's books and that is satisfying in itself.

I enjoyed Whitethorn Woods more than the author's last, Night of Rain and Stars, but I don't think it's her best (Tara Road among them). That said, any Maeve Binchy book is a soothing and enjoyable read that is probably better than three quarters of the books out there and worth reading!

A nice, pleasant book.......2007-09-08

This is a nice feel-good book--a pleasant read. At some points, I felt like each story was much too contrived. I love being swept away into another world when reading a novel, but it didn't quite happen with this book. Some parts were too unrealistic, and others too predictable. The ending was nice, but not satisfying. Overall, it was a nice book to read at the beach, under an umbrella.

Maeve's Done it Again!.......2007-08-27

Maeve Binchy's newest book is a charming addition to her body of work. There is humor and drama in a bittersweet mix. This book was as enjoyable as all her others.

Unconventional characters come alive.......2007-08-20

No one can make characters come alive in a few short paragraphs better than Maeve Binchy. She brings the most interesting characters to Whitehorn Woods, a satsifying page turner set in a small Irish town. Based on a proposed highway that would destroy St. Ann's well, which is thought to bring miracles to many, we meet diverse characters who are somehow connected to the shrine. Ms. Binchy is a genius when it comes to creating a conventional person who has more depth and layers than we would expect.
All of the characters have challenges and they learn how to use their talents to better their lives and others. I would have liked to have some of the stories resolved, particularly the tragic tale of the stolen baby. It probably was more realistic that the long-suffering mother never knew what happened to her daughter, but I did want the child robber punished and the child to know her background. I could come to terms with the other characters' fate, but this story was the most heartbreaking.
There is a "Hollywood" ending in regards to the proposed highway which tied up the many pieces of the plot. And, of course, the hero was the character who was not considered the brightest or most ambitious. A good read.

Splenid Characters and a Refreshing Story.......2007-08-08

I have read a number of Maeve Binchy's book and I have enjoyed them all. Whitethorn Woods is another story to add to her wonderful books. This story was written in a different format but still the characters are clever and appealing. The story reveals a Irish priest that is concerned that a lot of his parishioners, wanting a miracle to happen, make a trip to a well in Whitethorn Woods. He is amiss as to what he should do. The author introduces a variety of splendid characters giving those characters feelings and beliefs about the well. Then there comes a problem: a road is to be built that will run straight through Whitethorn Woods and the well. I hope I haven't given away too much of the story for those who haven't read it. In summary, it's a delightful and refreshing story and I would recommend it to all my friends.

Another refreshing story that I would recommend is Gathering of Cans by Robert L. Saunders. This is a stunning Women's Fiction that gives a breathtaking view in the life of Zoie Baker. Determined to build a swimming pool by gathering aluminum cans this warm and fabulous story by an author that has a smooth and silky prose will not disappoint you. Check it out it's just a wonderful story. All 530 pages. So long.

Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone

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Timely information
Worse than a civil war; because most civil wars include some ethics.
POV from up close and personal on war
American Protectorate
An important book every American should read

Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone
Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

Iraq | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1400044871
Release Date: 2006-09-19

Book Description

An unprecedented account of life in Baghdad’s Green Zone, a walled-off enclave of towering plants, posh villas, and sparkling swimming pools that was the headquarters for the American occupation of Iraq.

The Washington Post’s former Baghdad bureau chief Rajiv Chandrasekaran takes us with him into the Zone: into a bubble, cut off from wartime realities, where the task of reconstructing a devastated nation competed with the distractions of a Little America—a half-dozen bars stocked with cold beer, a disco where women showed up in hot pants, a movie theater that screened shoot-’em-up films, an all-you-could-eat buffet piled high with pork, a shopping mall that sold pornographic movies, a parking lot filled with shiny new SUVs, and a snappy dry-cleaning service—much of it run by Halliburton. Most Iraqis were barred from entering the Emerald City for fear they would blow it up.

Drawing on hundreds of interviews and internal documents, Chandrasekaran tells the story of the people and ideas that inhabited the Green Zone during the occupation, from the imperial viceroy L. Paul Bremer III to the fleet of twentysomethings hired to implement the idea that Americans could build a Jeffersonian democracy in an embattled Middle Eastern country.

In the vacuum of postwar planning, Bremer ignores what Iraqis tell him they want or need and instead pursues irrelevant neoconservative solutions—a flat tax, a sell-off of Iraqi government assets, and an end to food rationing. His underlings spend their days drawing up pie-in-the-sky policies, among them a new traffic code and a law protecting microchip designs, instead of rebuilding looted buildings and restoring electricity production. His almost comic initiatives anger the locals and help fuel the insurgency.

Chandrasekaran details Bernard Kerik’s ludicrous attempt to train the Iraqi police and brings to light lesser known but typical travesties: the case of the twenty-four-year-old who had never worked in finance put in charge of reestablishing Baghdad’s stock exchange; a contractor with no previous experience paid millions to guard a closed airport; a State Department employee forced to bribe Americans to enlist their help in preventing Iraqi weapons scientists from defecting to Iran; Americans willing to serve in Iraq screened by White House officials for their views on Roe v. Wade; people with prior expertise in the Middle East excluded in favor of lesser-qualified Republican Party loyalists. Finally, he describes Bremer’s ignominious departure in 2004, fleeing secretly in a helicopter two days ahead of schedule.

This is a startling portrait of an Oz-like place where a vital aspect of our government’s folly in Iraq played out. It is a book certain to be talked about for years to come.

Customer Reviews:

Timely information.......2007-09-23

"Imperial Life" is honest, first hand, information. The author has a good grasp of the subject, of the surroundings and above all, of reality. He is able to pick up the essentials and deal with them without exaggerating his importance or his role. He is a well informed man, as he should be. The book is very well put together, and a pleasure to read. It is above all, timely. This means, regretably, that its importance shall pass, as the events he decribe will give in time place to "new improved" versions. The importance for historians to come and to serious readers will not be diminished.

Worse than a civil war; because most civil wars include some ethics........2007-09-18

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the reasons we are involved in Iraq. It is a personal account from a journalist who travels out of the green zone to get an inside look. The critical message I got from this book is that we shouldn't dictate how the people of Iraq should run their government. Rajiv Chandrasekaran with the Washington Post reports on the life of people involved with the CPA and their attempts to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure. His book outlines a critical perspective and helps to answer many questions. "Iraqi's needed help (good advice and ample resources) from a support of corps of well meaning foreigners, not a full scale occupation with imperial Americans cloistered in a palace of the tyrant, eating bacon and drinking beer, surrounded by Gurkhas and blast walls." Why should Americans be so concerned about Iraq being a democracy? Where the officials are debating over western ideas to propegate the policies of modernizing Iraq; In the shadow of a war torn country without the bare necessities for survival. The CPA who (couldn't produce anything) poisoned Iraq's politics and had big ideas of rebuilding Iraq, but couldn't provide essentials like: Safety for the Iraqi people, electricity, water, and adequate health care. You could argue both sides of this issue, but I think this book paints a very good portrait of life in the green zone.

POV from up close and personal on war.......2007-09-14

Chandrasekaran was Baghdad bureau chief for the Washington Post when the American troops invaded Iraq. Imperial Life in the Emerald City chronicles life in the Green Zone based on his experiences and what he gleaned from his countless interviews. The time period covered is roughly from the first days of the U.S. invasion to Bremer's departure in 2004.

It is a tale of cronyism, hubris, myopia, incompetence, and well-intentioned people not having the appropriate resources (training, information, human or material resources) to perform their duties. It is about inter-governmental in-fighting, and about how political loyalty trumped experience (often with disastrous results). It is a story of how disconnected those leading the rebuilding effort in Iraq were with the Iraqi people and how imposing their ideals in Iraq resulted in greater unrest. It is a paradigm example of how failing to plan resulted in planning to fail.

The book would have been hilarious, except that the stories - as incredible as they are - are true! Knowing that this work is non-fiction makes it sad. Rick (Fiasco), Stewart (The Prince of the Marshes), Packer (Assassin's Gate), Woodward (State of Denial) and others seem to concur that the U.S. government has grossly mishandled the efforts in Iraq. Unfortunately, the price has been lives (both American and Iraqi, both civilian and military) as well as Iraqi and U.S. national resources.

Chandrasekran writes in the first person, and his writing style is easy, straight forward and engaging. Interspersed between chapters are vignettes on life within the Emerald City (a.k.a. Green Zone, "Imperial Life" refers to life under Bremer's rule). Chandrasekaran does not pass judgment; he merely reports what he saw and learned from his interviews.

Examples of ignorance, ineptitude, and denial litter the pages that at times I could not bear to read any more. It was difficult for me not to get appalled and angry at the egregious decisions that were made. After reading this book, most readers would agree with the Iraqi leader Chandrasekran quotes as saying "The biggest mistake of the occupation was the occupation itself, pg. 290."

Armchair Interviews says: First-hand reporting well done in this book.

American Protectorate.......2007-09-10

Chandrasekaran's book about the green zone appears authentic - which, given most of the authorized and unauthorized texts to date, is high praise. The author describes life in the American palace from his firsthand experience. Many of the events and people are so absurd, one is convinced that they could not have been made up. The green zone at the time of this book must have been chaotic: no clear lines of authority and responsibility, personnel with no experience, no clear objectives, mumbo-jumbo from Rumsfeld and the pentagon, wasted State department efforts.

One hopes that will change, as - at this writing in late 2007 - Iraq will remain an American protectorate for many years to come, decades perhaps.

The most egregious outcome of the Bush administration's criminal invasion of a sovereign country without due cause, is that the US will not be able to pull out. Given the volatility of the Middle East, awash in oil, Islamic jihadists, religious friction, and potentially rogue states, such as Iran and Syria (not to mention the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict), the Bush administration could not have chosen a worse target - except, perhaps, China and Russia.

American politicians will discuss pulling out and staying for years. But, from a practical point of view, Iraq will remain a major foreign base of military and political operations for at least a decade, perhaps more. This will be known as the "Era of the American Protectorate in Iraq."

The era may end eventually, as Iraq demonstrates it can unite, or form its own autonomous states within its borders. Or, a major event may change the situation.

As Iraq has no great hisitory as a liberal democracy, the first outcome is unlikely. More likely is a major event. More likely still, is that, if a major event occurs, it will result in more American involvement, not less. For, the longer Iraq becomes known as an Amercian Protectorate, the more likely it will further develop as a catalyst. Iraq will become a touchstone for identifying America as an imperialist nation and untrustworthy ally. American-Iraq has already come to symbolize capitalist expansion and hegemony.

What our politicians and military say and write about Iraq is of no importance. It is what we do, have done, and will do that matters - with one exception: "Staying the course" will resonate throughout the ages as the banner for a conflict that never ends, or will end in a catastrophe so large that the Iraq invasion will take on the significance of Hitler's annexation of Czechoslovakia.

An important book every American should read.......2007-09-05

Why is the author not testifying before Congress on a regular basis? The greed and mismanagement that are the hallmarks of the war in Iraq should be headline news every night. This book is wonderfully readable and captures the "Catch-22" absurdity of the entire catastrophic endeavor.

This administration shouldn't be trusted to change a lightbulb.

A-List #8, The: Heart of Glass: An A-List Novel (A-List)

Average customer rating:

Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Gotta have it
Pretty Good...
Heart of Glass
Heart of Glass

A-List #8, The: Heart of Glass: An A-List Novel (A-List)
Zoey Dean
Manufacturer: Poppy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0316010960

Book Description

The New York Times bestselling series about the scandalous lives of rich and famous teens in Beverly Hills, California.

High school is officially over and that means one thing for the A-List: time to party! But the celebration is cut short when unlikely pair Anna and Cammie find themselves in an even more unlikely situation--caught trespassing on a celeb's beach estate--and are forced to don steel handcuffs along with their Tiffany tennis bracelets. Luckily, the girls are spared a summer stuck in tacky orange jumpsuits when their hotshot lawyer lands them a cushy community service gig: helping plan a fabulous charity fashion show! But while it may seem like a plush job, Anna and Cammie are in for a challenge. Can the girls handle the pressure of the vicious fashion world? Or will they fall to pieces faster than a cheap Louis Vuitton knockoff?

Customer Reviews:

Courtesy of Teens Read Too.......2007-05-31

In the last book in the A-LIST series (American Beauty: An A-List Novel (A-List #7)), the gang had finally graduated while discovering some juicy secrets. Cammie had discovered more information on what really happened to her mother. Sam was finally reunited with Eduardo, and Anna met Caine, who was nothing like her boyfriend, Ben. And Ben's dirty little secret wasn't a secret any longer.

The A-Listers are back again in HEART OF GLASS, and this time with a little twist.

Anna and Cammie have to work together - that's right, together - on a charity fashion show. But they got off easy, since this little community service project was the result of getting caught trespassing on a celebrity's estate. No worries, these two can work together, right?

Anna and Caine are getting a little closer, while Ben doesn't seem to worry so much. While Adam and Cammie are trying to make things work, we're hoping that opposites really do attract. Sam is still trying to adjust to living with Poppy, and maybe trying to get rid of her at the same time, while making sure nothing goes wrong with her and Eduardo. And Dee, well, she's Dee, trying to get back on her feet.

The gang is back and it's going to be one sizzling summer.

Eighth in the series, HEART OF GLASS is still filled with secrets, lies, and plenty of drama. The best thing about this series is that the material is never old and it still keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat. The cast is still great and you just love Anna more and more after each book. Lets just say that HEART OF GLASS is more appealing than another episode of a certain teen drama on a new network - at least I'm experiencing something I haven't seen before!

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

Gotta have it.......2007-05-24

I am crazy over this series ... i think that this book had to be the most mouth dropping one ... i almost feel like zoey can't write these books fast enough ... i feel like i can identify w/ every character on one level or another ... zoey dean delivers everytime you read one of her books

Pretty Good..........2007-05-17

I've been following the A-List novels since they came out a few years ago. There were tons of these book series floating around--the rich, cliquey girls who seemed to be mean and exclusionary--there were the Gossip Girls, the Clique... you get my drift.

Of all the books of that sort, A-List was the one that caught my eye. I followed it religiously for a while, but I got to one particular book in the series and almost gave up on it. The name-dropping and overall snobbery frustrated me to the point that I almost didn't give a flying ice cream cone about Anna and Ben or Dee's increasing psychosis.

Dean has redeemed herself with this last one, though. The characters are proving to be much more dimensional than first thought, and although they still tend to get themselves into outrageous situations, they are handling them with class and the kind of assertiveness I wish I'd had as a teenager. I really enjoyed this last book and I am looking forward to the "next juicy A-List novel."

Heart of Glass.......2007-05-14

Gabriela R. 5/11/07

Heart of Glass, Zoey Dean, ISBN: 0-316-01096-0

If you like Drama, Fashion, and Love then the Heart of Glass is the book you want to read. The main characters are Anna, Sam, Cammie, and Dee! Anna and Cammie got arrested for trespassing on a beach estate, but since their dad's hired really good lawyers they only got community service. Which is to help plan a charity fashion show. Since Anna started hanging out with Caine. Cammie decides to go and hang out with Ben hers and Anna's ex-boyfriend because Adam is camping and she just wants to have a little fun! Cammie finds out what really happened to her mother.

Sam suspects that Poppy her step-mother is cheating on her father the famous Jackson Sharpe so she gets her friend Parker to flirt with her so she can see if Poppy would really cheat. Anna and Cammie have to work with a girl named Champagne on the fashion show, but everyone says that she is a thief! Anna see Caine at a place call the Firehouse dancing on stage with no shirt on, she figures out that he is just like Ben always keeping secrets from her! But Ben is determined to fight for Anna!!!

Right before the fashion Show a dress is missing, everyone thinks it is Champagne but Cammie is on the case to find the real thief...will Sam find out if Poppy is really cheating on her dad... who will Anna choose Ben or Caine?

I really liked this book it was a page-turner because you want to see what will happen next. I recommend this book to girls 11 and up because this book talks a lot about fashion and girl problems!

Heart of Glass.......2007-05-14

[...]

If you like Drama, Fashion, and Love then the Heart of Glass is the book you want to read. The main characters are Anna, Sam, Cammie, and Dee! Anna and Cammie got arrested for trespassing on a beach estate, but since their dad's hired really good lawyers they only got community service. Which is to help plan a charity fashion show. Since Anna started hanging out with Caine Cammie decides to go and hang out with Ben hers and Anna's ex-boyfriend because Adam is camping and she just wants to have a little fun! Cammie finds out what really happened to her mother.

Sam suspects that Poppy her step-mother is cheating on her father the famous Jackson Sharpe so she gets her friend Parker to flirt with her so she can see if Poppy would really cheat. Anna and Cammie have to work with a girl named Champagne on the fashion show, but everyone says that she is a thief! Anna see Caine at a place call the Firehouse dancing on stage with no shirt on, she figures out that he is just like Ben always keeping secrets from her! But Ben is determined to fight for Anna!!!

Right before the fashion Show a dress is missing, everyone thinks it is Champagne but Cammie is on the case to find the real thief...will Sam find out if Poppy is really cheating on her dad... who will Anna choose Ben or Caine?

I really liked this book it was a page-turner because you want to see what will happen next. I recommend this book to girl 11 and up because this book talks a lot about fashion and girl problems!

Average customer rating:

Good Stories, but Too Disconnected
Inspiring Seedfolks
A Garden of Love
A Book for Building Community
Good reading for children

Seedfolks (Joanna Colter Books)
Paul Fleischman
Manufacturer: HarperTeen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0064472078
Release Date: 2004-12-14

Amazon.com

Sometimes, even in the middle of ugliness and neglect, a little bit of beauty will bloom. Award-winning writer Paul Fleischman dazzles us with this truth in Seedfolks--a slim novel that bursts with hope. Wasting not a single word, Fleischman unfolds a story of a blighted neighborhood transformed when a young girl plants a few lima beans in an abandoned lot. Slowly, one by one, neighbors are touched and stirred to action as they see tendrils poke through the dirt. Hispanics, Haitians, Koreans, young, and old begin to turn the littered lot into a garden for the whole community. A gift for hearts of all ages, this gentle, timeless story will delight anyone in need of a sprig of inspiration.

Book Description

A vacant lot, rat-infested and filled with garbage, looked like no place for a garden. Especially to a neighborhood of strangers where no one seems to care. Until one day, a young girl clears a small space and digs into the hard-packed soil to plant her precious bean seeds. Suddenly, the soil holds promise: To Curtis, who believes he can win back Lateesha's heart with a harvest of tomatoes; to Virgil's dad, who sees a fortune to be made from growing lettuce; and even to Maricela, sixteen and pregnant, wishing she were dead.

Thirteen very different voices -- old, young, Haitian, Hispanic, tough, haunted, and hopeful -- tell one amazing story about a garden that transforms a neighborhood.

Chosen as a state and citywide read in communities across the country:
Vermont
Racine, WI
Tampa, FL
Newburgh, NY
Boca Raton, FL

Customer Reviews:

Good Stories, but Too Disconnected.......2007-05-31

It all started with one little girl. Kim's father died before she was even born, and she is afraid that he might not know her as he looks down from heaven. So she decides to do something to make him recognize her and to make him proud. He was a farmer back in Vietnam, so she takes a handful of bean seeds to a trash-covered vacant lot near her inner-city apartment and plants them. When he looks down and sees them, he will know she is his daughter.

Someone looks down from a window and is intrigued by this girl who keeps visiting the vacant lot in secret. Upon investigation she sees what is going on and decides to clear a little patch of land for a tiny garden of her own. Others observe and like the idea, and soon the vacant lot is covered with a patchwork of gardens from all sorts of people living nearby. Someone is able to bully the city into moving the trash off of this land. People who usually avoid eye contact at all cost are suddenly meeting neighbors and relating to one another. Through this garden project, a neighborhood of strangers becomes a real community.

I liked the characters in this story. They were all very vivid and their stories were well thought out. I also liked being able to see the different perspectives on this garden, and the different reasons people decided to plant things here.

I didn't like that each person's story was just dropped after it was told. I wanted the author to go back and write what the people were thinking. What did Kim think when her garden idea caught on? Was Sam able to stop the segregation he saw developing in the garden? I wanted some followup to each story.

Inspiring Seedfolks.......2007-04-25

Seedfolks is a book about a vacant city lot in Cleveland, Ohio that is abandoned until one day a Vietnamese girl decides to plant some beans as a way to become connected to her father who died before she was born. It tells the story of 13 different people who come together by this garden. They are all different ages and have different ethnic backgrounds and jobs. Somehow this garden brings them all together and means something different to each of them. The individual stories are interesting and touching.

My favorite part of the book is Gonzolo's Tio Juan story. He came to the U.S. with Gonzolo's mother and brother. Because he didn't speak English and couldn't work he would wonder around all day long with nothing to do and had to be baby sat by Gonzolo who who referred to him as a baby. One day he went off on his own in the neighborhood and came across the garden. The next day he went back and started working in the garden and planting seeds. Back in Guatemala he used to be a farmer and this gave him life again and he went from being a baby back to a man again.

I would recommend that you read Seedfolks. I think you will be touched by the 13 different people who are brought together through this community garden. In Reading Gonzolo's story it made me think about my Mom's parents who are immigrants from Portugal and how they too must of felt like Gonzolo's Tio Juan when they first arrived in the U.S., like they were babies and didn't know anything.

A Garden of Love.......2006-05-11

Seedfolks is a 69 page book, an easy read. Seedfolks is a book that shows that all different races, religions, cultures, and ages can come together to make something nice and beautiful and have meaning. They took a dump-like place and made it into something beautiful.
Some things I liked about this book were, that you can see how the author makes it so everyone of different backgrounds and stuff come together and do something together as one whole. Another thing that I liked about the book was that the author demonstrates how you can except people for who they are. In this story it seems like everyone is the equal and stuff like that. Like for example there was thing young girl who was pregnant and when this book was written it was like a big deal if you were pregnant at an early age but when she went to the garden no one judged her or anything like that. Another good thing about the book is that there is like no anger or anything bad in it, it seems like when everyone goes to the garden all there problems go away and most people go there to relax and just have fun.
Some things I didn't like about the book were that you cant really get to know one character because the character only has like 3 or 4 pages and there is 13 characters in the book so there really isn't one main character. Also in this book there was no plot, climax and there wasn't that big of a problem I mean there was a little one but it really didn't have a lot to do with what was going on in the book. Another bad thing about the book is it wasn't very interesting I'm the type of person who likes to read a book that you cant put down that you get really into but with this book I didn't feel that way. Overall I think Seedfolks was a decent book.

A Book for Building Community.......2006-04-25

This small book (69 pages) contains thirteen vignettes, each written from the point of view of a different person. Although the people begin as strangers from various ethnic backgrounds, they become acquainted as each cultivates a part of a vacant lot. As the lot becomes a place of beauty, individual lives are transformed as well -- and a community is created.

_Seedfolks_ is an excellent tool for building community among people with diverse backgrounds -- perhaps especially among educators, parents, and students.

Good reading for children.......2006-04-25

This is a good book for children who does not understand the meaning of working together. Also, this book was structured very intelligently; so that any reader can follow the same story but from other people point of views. In addition; the way the author painted colorful pictures of the city was very unique.

Average customer rating:

Ugh.
Slender yes, but he still has it !
Worse Ever
TYPICAL McMURTRY
Snow on the Roof-fire in the chimmney

When the Light Goes: A Novel
Larry McMurtry
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1416534261

Book Description

In this masterful and often surprising sequel to the acclaimed Duane's Depressed, the Pulitzer Prize- and Oscar-winning author of Lonesome Dove has written a haunting, elegiac, and occasionally erotic novel about one of his most beloved characters. Duane Moore first made his appearance in The Last Picture Showand, like his author, he has aged but not lost his vigor or his taste for life.

Back from a two-week trip to Egypt, Duane finds he cannot readjust to life in Thalia, the small, dusty, West Texas hometown in which he has spent all of his life. In the short time he was away, it seems that everything has changed alarmingly. His office barely has a reason to exist now that his son Dickie is running the company from Wichita Falls, his lifelong friends seem to have suddenly grown old, his familiar hangout, once a good old-fashioned convenience store, has been transformed into an "Asian Wonder Deli," his daughters seem to have taken leave of their senses and moved on to new and strange lives, and his own health is at serious risk.

It's as if Duane cannot find any solace or familiarity in Thalia and cannot even bring himself to revisit the house he shared for decades with his late wife, Karla, and their children and grandchildren. He spends his days aimlessly riding his bicycle

(already a sign of serious eccentricity in West Texas) and living in his cabin outside town. The more he tries to get back to the rhythm of his old life, the more he realizes that he should have left Thalia long ago -- indeed everybody he cared for seems to have moved on without him, to new lives or to death.

The only consolation is meeting the young, attractive geologist, Annie Cameron, whom Dickie has hired to work out of the Thalia office. Annie is brazenly

seductive, yet oddly cold, young enough to be Duane's daughter, or worse, and Duane hasn't a clue how to handle her. He's also in love with his psychiatrist, Honor Carmichael, who after years of rebuffing him, has decided to undertake what she feels is Duane's very necessary sex reeducation, opening him up to some major, life-changing surprises.

For the lesson of When the Light Goes is that where there's life, there is indeed hope -- Duane, widowed, displaced from whatever is left of his own life, suddenly rootless in the middle of his own hometown, and at risk of death from a heart that also doesn't seem to be doing its job, is in the end saved by sex, by love, and by his own compassionate and intense interest in other people and the surprises they reveal.

At once realistic and life-loving, often hilariously funny, and always moving, though without a touch of sentimentality, Larry McMurtry has opened up a new chapter in Duane's life and, in doing so, written one of his finest and most compelling novels to date, doing for Duane what he did so triumphantly for Aurora in Terms of Endearment.

Customer Reviews:

Ugh........2007-09-07

Duane's Depressed was such a beautiful book. I should have stopped there. While reading When the Light Goes, I kept calculating how many pages I had until the end - I didn't know how McMurtry was going to dazzle me in the last few pages. Oh... He didn't. Yes, I agree - Skip this book - and read one of his other, wonderful tales.

Slender yes, but he still has it !.......2007-08-15

Yes, this is a slender book, full of blank pages, but the fact remains that a late in career Larry McMurtry not at his best is still way above 80% of the writers on the market today.

Worse Ever.......2007-08-08

This series should have ended with DUANE'S DEPRESSED. I have read several of McMurtrys books and it's hard to believe this is the same man who won the Pulitzer for LONESOME DOVE. The gross amount of profanity and the sex scenes did not add anything to the book. In fact, this book did not really add anything to the story line. It should have just ended with Duane flying off to Egypt in DUANE'S DEPRESSED.

TYPICAL McMURTRY.......2007-06-11

Very good read. Am proud owner of all Mcmutry's books. Since I am in the same age group as Duane I can relate to him quite a lot.
Pete

Snow on the Roof-fire in the chimmney.......2007-05-31

I enjoyed this book, even more then Duane's Depressed. I'm glad that there are books that celebrate that season of life. Enjoy.

A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland Indiana (Today Show Book Club #3)

Average customer rating:

A Girl Named Zippy
I liked reading a memoir that was just plain fun
A bit lacking in zip...
Just What I Needed ....
Delightful and witty!

A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland Indiana (Today Show Book Club #3)
Haven Kimmel
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0767915054
Release Date: 2002-09-03

Book Description

When Haven Kimmel was born in 1965, Mooreland, Indiana, was a sleepy little hamlet of three hundred people. Nicknamed "Zippy" for the way she would bolt around the house, this small girl was possessed of big eyes and even bigger ears. In this witty and lovingly told memoir, Kimmel takes readers back to a time when small-town America was caught in the amber of the innocent postwar period–people helped their neighbors, went to church on Sunday, and kept barnyard animals in their backyards.

Laced with fine storytelling, sharp wit, dead-on observations, and moments of sheer joy, Haven Kimmel's straight-shooting portrait of her childhood gives us a heroine who is wonderfully sweet and sly as she navigates the quirky adult world that surrounds Zippy.

Download Description

Laced with fine storytelling, sharp wit, dead-on observations, and moments of sheer joy, Haven Kimmel's straight-shooting portrait of her childhood gives us a heroine who is wonderfully sweet and sly as she navigates the quirky adult world that surrounds Zippy.

Customer Reviews:

A Girl Named Zippy.......2007-10-01

Cute and thoughtful. An easy read that makes you remember how things were different way back when.

I liked reading a memoir that was just plain fun.......2007-08-29

I was able to laugh through this memoir..I have since picked up her second memoir and I am saving that for a rainy (or snowy) day when I can kick back and read it all day long-

A bit lacking in zip..........2007-08-07

It seems as though everyone these days feels compelled to write an autobiography, and Kimmel was no exception. Born in 1965 in small-town Indiana, the author recalls her childhood, when she was known as "Zippy" for her talent at racing from place to place.

While some of Kimmel's story is intriguing -- her best friend Julie, strangely mute; her friend Dana, who arrives from L.A. in the second grade, wearing a black leather jacket -- much of her recollections are just run-of-the-mill little-girl recollections. While most of us can relate to lazy summer afternoons, browsing comics at the store or visiting friends, there's usually got to be some compelling reason to want to read about others' experiences doing the same. As far as I could see, there was really no unique "hook," or anything that made me think, "Wow, this person is worthy of a book!"

Don't get me wrong; it's not a BAD book. It's just not likely to stay in your memory for more than a day.

Just What I Needed ...........2007-06-27

I just picked this book up at a rummage sale. Whoever donated it to the sale has my undying gratitude because this book was the sweetest and funniest book I have read in quite some time. I am a fan of memoirs and biographies but this one is so unlike any others that I am now hooked on Kimmel's writings. I want more Zippy!

Like Zippy, who is four years older than I am by the way, I grew up in a small midwestern town but not as small as hers! I would be considered big city girl in comparison! But the midwestern attitude is so familiar that reading this book was like traveling down memory lane for me! She's the youngest in a family of three kids. Her older brother and sister were already in Junior high by the time she arrived. Her mother refers to her lovingly as an "after thought." That is how the book started out (well, almost). Named Haven at birth, her dad decided to call her Zippy since she could never sit still. You can say that her memories of childhood reeked of love, laughter and cigarettes.

Zippy is precocious. Zippy is curious. Zippy is Zippy, a character that you will never forget. My favorite part is the scene where her sister told her that she's adopted. Outraged, she stomps in and asks her mother if that's true. Her mother stops reading for a moment and says, yes, you are. A band of roving gypsies with a pack of wolves that stand up and preach during a full moon came through the area. The whole conversation had me repeating it to my husband as it was so hilarious and something exactly like what my father would spin out to me when I was a child.

I haven't raved about a book in a real long time though I have read lots of really good books ~~ but this book is something I am going to urge my book club to read sometime in the next year. It is something I think we'll enjoy because not only is it funny and engaging, but it talks about a childhood that is now lost in the mists of time. Building your own bike? Who does that anymore? There are many instances in this book that I remember doing as a kid or have heard my parents do when they were kids. I know that Christmas is more different today than it was in the early 70s. It seems to be a simpler time back then even though it was harder especially after the Vietnam War ended. It was a time of change but Zippy had a happy childhood and those memories are funny and bittersweet.

This book comes highly recommended. If you need a laugh, this book is a good place to get one! It is just a really good read and perfect for a summer read!

6-28-07

Delightful and witty! .......2007-06-04

This book is a fascinating escape; it brings the reader back to childhood and also reminds us of questions we have long since given up asking. A great hammock swinging summer read!

Average customer rating:

Life in the City of Venice
Only 'ok'.
Immensely enjoyable, but not up to Midnight in the Garden standards...
Gave up after 103 pages
Great insight !

The City of Falling Angels
John Berendt
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0143036939
Release Date: 2006-09-26

Amazon.com

Past Midnight: John Berendt on the Mysteries of Venice

Just as John Berendt's first book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, was settling into its remarkable four-year run on The New York Times bestseller list, he discovered a new city whose local mysteries and traditions were more than a match for Savannah, whose hothouse eccentricities he had celebrated in the first book. The new city was Venice, and he spent much of the last decade wandering through its canals and palazzos, seeking to understand a place that any native will tell you is easy to visit but hard to know. For travelers to Venice, whether by armchair or vaporetto, he has selected his 10 (actually 11) Books to Read on Venice. And he took the time to answer a few of our questions about his charming new book, The City of Falling Angels:

Amazon.com: The lush, cloistered southern city of Savannah was the locale of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Venice, the setting for The City of Falling Angels, is vastly different. Was it the difference itself that drew you to Venice?

John Berendt: Savannah and Venice actually have quite a lot in common. Both are uniquely beautiful. Both are isolated geographically, culturally, and emotionally from the world outside. Venice sits in the middle of a lagoon; Savannah is surrounded by marshes, piney woods, and the ocean. Venetians think of themselves as Venetian first, Italian second; Savannahians rarely even venture forth as far as Atlanta or Charleston. So both cities offer a writer a rich context in which to set a story, and the stories provide readers a means of escape from their own environment into another world.

Amazon.com: I enjoyed your rather declarative author's note: that this is a work of nonfiction, and that you used everyone's real names. In your previous book you did use pseudonyms for some characters and you explained that you took a few small liberties in the service of the larger truth of the story. Why the change this time?

Berendt: When I wrote Midnight I thought I would do a few people the favor of changing their names for the sake of privacy. But when the book came out, several of the pseudonymous characters told me they wished I'd used their real names instead. So this time, no pseudonyms. As for the storytelling liberties I took in writing Midnight, they were minor and did not change the story, but my mention of it in the author's note caused some confusion, with the result that Midnight is sometimes referred to now as a novel, which it most certainly is not. Neither is The City of Falling Angels. In fact, I dispensed with the liberties this time and made it as close to the truth as I could get it.

Amazon.com: In The City of Falling Angels, a number of fascinating people serve as guides to the city, each with a different idea of the true nature of Venice. Who was your favorite?

Berendt: I don't have a favorite, but Count Girolamo Marcello is certainly a memorable, highly quotable commentator. "Everyone in Venice is acting," he told me. "Everyone plays a role, and the role changes. The key to understanding Venetians is rhythm, the rhythm of the lagoon, the water, the tides, the waves. It's like breathing. High water, high pressure: tense. Low water, low pressure: relaxed. The tide changes every six hours."

I nodded that I understood.

"How do you see a bridge?" he went on.

"Pardon me?" I asked, "A bridge?"

"Do you see a bridge as an obstacle--as just another set of steps to climb to get from one side of a canal to the other? We Venetians do not see bridges as obstacles. To us, bridges are transitions. We go over them very slowly. They are part of the rhythm. They are the links between two parts of a theater, like changes in scenery. Our role changes as we go over bridges. We cross from one reality ... to another reality. From one street ... to another street. From one setting ... to another setting."

Once I had absorbed that notion, Count Marcello continued: "Sunlight on a canal is reflected up through a window onto the ceiling, then from the ceiling onto a vase, and from the vase onto a glass. Which is the real sunlight? Which is the real reflection? What is true? What is not true? The answer is not so simple, because the truth can change. I can change. You can change. That is the Venice effect."

I was not terribly surprised when he later told me, "Venetians never tell the truth. We mean precisely the opposite of what we say."

Amazon.com: Now that you know Venice well enough to be a guide yourself, what would you say to a visitor looking for insight into the character of the city?

Berendt: Tourists generally shuffle along, on narrow streets so crowded as to be nearly impassable, between the major sights of St. Mark's Square, the Rialto Bridge, and the Accademia Museum. All you have to do is to step off these heavily traveled alleyways, and in a few moments you will find yourself in quiet, much emptier surroundings. This is more like the real Venice. Another thing to do is to go into the wine bars where Venetians stand around drinking and talking. They will very likely be speaking the Venetian dialect, so you won't be able to understand them, but you will get a sampling of the true Venetian ambiance enlivened by the pronounced sing-song rhythm of the language. I'd also suggest stopping someone in the street and asking for directions. Almost invariably, you will be rewarded with a genial smile and the instructions, Sempre diritto, meaning "Straight ahead." This will only leave you more confused, because when you attempt to follow a straight line, you will be confronted by more twists and turns and forks in the road than you thought possible, given the instructions. This is part of what Count Marcello described as "the Venice effect."

Book Description

The author of the record-breaking bestseller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil unveils the enigmatic Venice as only he can

Twelve years ago, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil exploded into a monumental success, residing a record-breaking four years on the New York Times bestseller list (longer than any work of fiction or nonfiction had before) and turning John Berendt into a household name. The City of Falling Angels is Berendt's first book since Midnight, and it immediately reminds one what all the fuss was about. Turning to the magic, mystery, and decadence of Venice, Berendt gradually reveals the truth behind a sensational fire that in 1996 destroyed the historic Fenice opera house. Encountering a rich cast of characters, Berendt tells a tale full of atmosphere and surprise as the stories build, one after the other, ultimately coming together to portray a world as finely drawn as a still-life painting.

Customer Reviews:

Life in the City of Venice.......2007-10-03

In 1996, a fire started in the Fenice Opera House in Venice, Italy. And not just any fire. A fire that would consume not only most of the beautiful building, along with it paintings, frescoes and history in this last of it's kind building. No, this fire consumed almost a decade in the life of Venice. How did the fire start? Was it arson? Was it negligence? Who had the most to gain? Was it the Mafia or was it the contractors that were working on the remodeling? These are just some of the questions that drew John Berendt to extend his stay in Venice and try to capture the city and it's people in print.

In the course of the investigation, Berendt introduces us to many of the citizens of this city. We meet Archimede Seguso, a renowned glass maker, that watched the Fenice burn and then created over one hundred glass vases to memorialize it. Of course, most of these pieces still haven't been seen by the public because they are tied up in a litigation of a weird brotherly feud. We meet the Rylands - Jane, an American Expat and her British husband that waylaid a poor old lady and took her incredible achieves for their own profit. The woman was Olga Rudge, the famous Mistress of writer Ezra Pound, who's writings and letters were worth a small fortune. And we meet members of the Save Venice foundation, a non-profit organization that was created to help restore buildings and art in the city of Venice. But an implosion of the group was caused by mixing too many people with large egos wanting the Title and prestige involved with this organization.

I will readily admit I had high hopes for this book. I thought Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil about the city of Savannah, Georgia was fantastic! He did such a wonderful job describing the beauty of the city, as well as the eccentricity of it's people. Not so much with Venice, although he certainly tried. Maybe it's the fact that I just don't understand the Venetian culture the way I do culture in the US. Or maybe this book was more about the glitterati instead of just the average folks. Either way, it fell short for me. I really didn't get a chance to CARE about the people in this book. There were too many exceedingly shallow people that cared more for their titles and their parties than they did about anything else. The back story of the Fenice fire just seemed to get lost in it all. And since reality is never as cut-and-dried as fiction, we still don't know what really happened that night at the Fenice.

I did enjoy learning more about Ezra Pound and Olga Rudge. And I was intrigued about the side story of the poet Mario Stefani, a man that took his own life during this time period. But reading about the Save Venice Organization and their constant bickering over whose name would be at the top of the stationery and who got the best seats for a gala rather turned my stomach. As did the story of the Rylands and how they swindled a poor elderly woman AND her family out of their birthright. Maybe my expectations were just too high for this one. Venice is a beautiful city, one I'd love to visit some day. But this book didn't do much for me! Like a Seinfeld episode, it was a whole lot about nothing.

Only 'ok'........2007-09-19

I prefer books with a strong plot. This didn't really seem to have a strong plot and the pieced never really seems to come together as strongly as I had hoped. It may just be the style of this author... and if you like that type of style this would be a book for you.

Immensely enjoyable, but not up to Midnight in the Garden standards..........2007-09-03

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt is one of my favorite books, so I decided to read his latest, The City of Falling Angels. While the formula for both books is pretty much the same, Midnight is a much better book--only because Savannah is a much more quirky city than Venice, Italy.

As with Midnight in the Garden, Berendt combines many elements to create The City of Falling Angels. He provides a little history of Venice. He interviews dozens of colorful characters. And he focuses on a possible crime. In Falling Angels, this is the burning of Venice's famous opera house, La Fenice. As far as history, I felt the author could have provided a little more information about Venice's rich past. Venice has many interesting characters, and Berendt did his best to seek them out. He interviewed Murano glass blowers, city officials, American expatriates, artists, and even a man who considers himself a culinary expert. His specialty is making the world's best-selling rat poison. He also looks into the many famous Americans who made Venice their home, including Peggy Guggenheim and Ezra Pound. But the characters in Venice fell short of Savannah's eclectic bunch including The Lady Chablis, the Voodoo priestess Minerva and antiques dealer Jim Williams. Also, the Fenice fire didn't quite have the drama as the murder in Midnight in the Garden

But I still enjoyed The City of Falling Angels immensely, and John Berendt is a fine writer with a keen eye when it comes to describing places and sites that he visits. After witnessing the opera house fire, glassblower Archimede Seguso goes to his shop and starts creating glass vases like he's never made before. "Against an opaque background as black as night, he had set swirling ribbons of sinuous diamond shapes in red, green, white, and gold, leaping, over-lapping, and spiraling upward around the vase. He never explained what he was doing, but by the second vase, everyone knew. It was a record of the fire in glass--the flames, the sparks, the embers, and the smoke--just as he had seen if from his window..." As for why he chose this city, "Venice was uniquely beautiful, isolated, inward-looking, and a powerful stimulant to the senses, the intellect, and the imagination....Because I could not imagine a more enticing beat to assign myself for an indefinite period of time."

I don't think that The City of Falling Angels is going to do to Venice what Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil did to Savannah. However, after reading The City of Falling Angels, I'm certainly considering a trip to Italy.

Gave up after 103 pages.......2007-09-01

If a book cannot grab me within the first 100 pages, then I have to stop. Not only that, but it was due at the library, and there is a waiting list (why?). I just have little time, and so many other books to read.

I will say that what I did read was somewhat interesting, and the writing was good. I just wasn't that interested in the story - at least at 100+ pages. It must get better, but I wish that I was made to care earlier in the writing.

Sorry if this wasn't very helpful, this review is more of my opinion than a critique.

Great insight ! .......2007-08-24

John Berendt does a gret job of making you feel as though you are right there with him. His investigation of the Fenice opera house fire and other occurences help to bring insight into why Venice operates the way it does. It was hard to put the book down. I am ready to go back again and spend more time getting lost in Venice.

Best Friends for Never (The Clique, No. 2)

Average customer rating:

Excellent condition
Being An Alpha ain't That Great
Best Friends for Never
Best Friends For Never <3
Book review

Best Friends for Never (The Clique, No. 2)
Lisi Harrison
Manufacturer: Poppy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0316701319

Customer Reviews:

Excellent condition.......2007-08-31

This book was in excellent condition. I would shop here rather than buy new and save the money!

Being An Alpha ain't That Great.......2007-08-17

As Alicia stages her take over to become an alpha, her and her BFF, Massie drift apart and the two find themselves in a raging, war of who has the better hold on their Clique. This book tells an amazing story of what a clique can do to crush you if you get in their way. After this book I was definitely hooked to the Clique series.

Best Friends for Never .......2007-05-23

Best Friends for Never is the best book I have ever read! The clique in this book consists of four girls, Massie, the clique leader, Alicia, who trys to be independent, Dylan, the weight watcher, and Kristen, who competes for guys. Then there is Claire. She wants to be in, but she is still out of the clique, at least for now. The school has a uniform competition to decide what the uniform will lood like. Will Kristen betray her best friends just to win the competition? Will she break away from the clique? Find out when you read Best Friends for Never

Best Friends For Never <3.......2007-05-23

This book is the sequel to the Clique. In this book, Massie finds out that a girl from school is hosting the FIRST "girl-boy party". Massie wants to be the girl that people remember, so Massie hosts the first "girl-boy party" before the other girl does. At the party things didn't go too well with the 4 best friends. Alicia started hanging out with a girl named Olivia. Kirsten and Dylan were fighting over a boy who didn't like either of them. Then Massie was just stuck in the middle of it. After the party Alicia didn't hang out with the other three girls anymore, and the girls started to hate her. I thought this was a good book because it kept you interested the whole time, and I can always relate to all of the girls!

Book review.......2007-03-30

Massie Block is the most popular seventh grader at OCD and to prove it she throws the first boy/girl Halloween party even if it was somebody else's idea. However, her parents are making her throw the party with the wannabe new girl, Claire, from Orlando that is staying in her guesthouse. Also, they are making her invite the entire seventh grade! The story starts off with Claire and Massie making a bet, Massie can't go shopping and Clair can't were the same outfit twice. After Massie and her three popular best friends Dylan, Kristen, and Alicia find their costumes, Massie wears the Dirty Devil Halloween costume to school on Halloween, and brings Dylan's, Alicia's and Kristen's for them to change into but purposely forgets Claries. After everyone saw there costumes they wanted to be just like them, so also cut there shirts and wore short skirts. However, the principal was furious and decided the school needed uniforms. Massie suggests to the fashion teacher that the school holds a design contest and who ever has the best idea will be the uniform designer. Dylan decides to ditch the clique and work on the project with her new friend Olivia. After the contest is held, both there groups end up being the final two. The results are announced and Dylan's team wins. Massie noticed that the nametags had been switched and really they had won. She decides to do nothing about it and wait for the right moment to get back at her. "Best Friends for Never" by Lisi Harrison is an excellent book I would definitely recommend!

One of the reasons I would recommend this novel is because it deals with real life situations that typical middle school kids face everyday such as friend ship, popularity, and crushes. For example Clair is having a hard time fitting in after just moving also the characters faces difficult events like when Kirsten and Dylan like the same guy and Massie and Clair make a bet.

Another reason enjoyed this book was because it taught the reader to keep your friends close. At the party, Dylan made a new friend Olivia and hung with her ever since. The pretty committee, as several people at school called them, always had a sleepover every Friday. One Friday Dylan said she needed to hang out with Olivia so they could finish their uniform designs. Nobody had missed the sleepover in over a year, and the Clique has very angered that she ditched them. Clair also almost became part of the group and decided to ditch her first real and true friend she had met and OCD, Layne Abelby.

Another reason I liked this book was because it was hilarious! One of the funniest parts was when Todd, Clair's little brother who is only ten, started to have a crush on Massie. He always talked about how she was his baby and the most beautiful girl in the world. It was also funny how Todd was the one who stole Massie's first kiss when she was hoping it would be Cam Fisher who secretly liked Clair. The Girls also do mean and funny things to humiliate one another all the time. Massie always has rude but unique comebacks to say to people especially Clair.

Best Friends for Never is an excellent well written novel that I would highly recommend. They will want to keep reading to see what dramatic event happens next to Massie and the rest of her friends! If you want a book about sneaky plans and how some girls will do anything to become popular I would defiantly recommend this novel.

~C.Cirillo

Average customer rating:

CAN ONE DOG ACCOMPLISH SO MUCH?
Because of Winn Dixie
A Gem!
An Okay Story, Overly Hyped
Becuse of Winnie Dixie

Because of Winn-Dixie
Kate DiCamillo
Manufacturer: Candlewick
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Product Features:

BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE

ASIN: 0763616052
Release Date: 2001-08-06

Product Description

The summer Opal and her father, the preacher, move to Naomi, Florida, Opal goes into the Winn-Dixie supermarket-and comes out with a dog. A big, ugly, suffering dog with a sterling sense of humor. A dog she dubs Winn-Dixie. Because of Winn-Dixie, the preacher tells Opal ten things about her absent mother, one for each year Opal has been alive. Winn-Dixie is better at making friends than anyone Opal has ever known, and together they meet the local librarian, Miss Franny Block, who once fought off a bear with a copy of War and Peace. They meet Gloria Dump, who is nearly blind but sees with her heart, and Otis, an ex-con who sets the animals in his pet shop loose after hours, then lulls them with his guitar. Opal spends all that sweet summer collecting stories about her new friends, and thinking about her mother. But because of Winn-Dixie or perhaps because she has grown, Opal learns to let go, just a little, and that friendship-and forgiveness-can sneak up on you like a sudden summer storm. Recalling the fiction of Harper Lee and Carson McCullers, here is a funny, poignant, and utterly genuine first novel from a major new talent. A Newbery Honor Book.

Amazon.com

Because of Winn-Dixie, a big, ugly, happy dog, 10-year-old Opal learns 10 things about her long-gone mother from her preacher father. Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal makes new friends among the somewhat unusual residents of her new hometown, Naomi, Florida. Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal begins to find her place in the world and let go of some of the sadness left by her mother's abandonment seven years earlier.

With her newly adopted, goofy pooch at her side, Opal explores her bittersweet world and learns to listen to other people's lives. This warm and winning book hosts an unforgettable cast of characters, including a librarian who fought off a bear with a copy of War and Peace, an ex-con pet-store clerk who plays sweet music to his animal charges, and the neighborhood "witch," a nearly blind woman who sees with her heart. Part Frankie (The Member of the Wedding), part Scout (To Kill a Mockingbird), Opal brings her own unique and wonderful voice to a story of friendship, loneliness, and acceptance. Opal's down-home charm and dead-on honesty will earn her friends and fans far beyond the confines of Naomi, Florida. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Customer Reviews:

CAN ONE DOG ACCOMPLISH SO MUCH?.......2007-09-29

Ten-year-old Opal and her father, whom she calls "the preacher" have moved to a small Florida town where she feels lonely--both as a newcomer and as an only child. Abandoned by her mother as a little girl the narrator secretly cherishes a dream that her mama will walk back into her life someday--an improbable idea privately shared by her papa. But her luck changes suddenly when she claims a friendly stray dog as her own, after it causes considerable damage and ruckus in a grocery store,
whose actual name if that of the chain, Winn-Dixie.

Opal learns about life, friendship and personal expectations in her new hometown, where she makes the acquaintance of people in various age groups: elderly Miss Franny Block, spinster librarian; Gloria Dump--who is not at all a witch. There is also the misunderstood youth, Otis, at the pet shop, and even kids ranging from pinch-faced Amanda, the sassy Dewberry brothers, and tiny Sweetie Pie. All these characters provide Opal with opportunities to grow in understanding and compassion.

Yet, it is through her relationship with her father, the lonely preacher--who pulls himself like a turtle into his shell of isolation--that give up childish fantasies. During Opal's discovery of social grace and inner peace in these pages Winn Dixie himself smiles and wags his tail--winning hearts and praise all around town. Generous Opal eagerly gives her faithful canine companion the credit for her social success. With its extensive dialogue, digestible vocabulary and widely-spaced lines this book proves easy reading for elementary and middle school pupils, offering gentle insight into the challenges of being a preacher's kid or wife.

Because of Winn Dixie.......2007-07-18

Opal, is a young girl in a new area with know friends. Opal lives with her father, who in the book portrays a very loving father yet a little reclusive. Opal mother left them when she was younger because she hated the responsibilities of being a preacher's wife. Opal is very lonely until she finds a funny looking stray dog at the Winn Dixie grocery store in town. She names him after the store that she finds him in. After awhile she not finds a friend in Winn Dixie, she finds trust and kindness in others. This is a great book to teach the value of friendship and family.

A Gem!.......2007-06-27

DiCamillo's story is told in such a simple, yet incredibly engaging and touching way. With elements like the smiling dog, the runaway mother, the sweet/sad lozenges, etc., it could have come across as overly sentimental and "icky" -- but no. DiCamillo manages to downplay the sappiness and capture the reader's heart right from the get-go. Definitely deserving of the Newbery. Read it with a box of Kleenex handy. The movie is great too -- very true to the book.

An Okay Story, Overly Hyped.......2007-06-05

Everything that happens to Opal that summer she moves to a new town seems to be because of her new dog, Winn-Dixie. In fact, Winn-Dixie himself is someting of an accident to her. She found him, a stray, causing a scene in the grocery store and couldn't bear for him to go to the pound. Instead she took him home hoping her preacher father, raising her alone since her mother left them shortly after Opal's birth, would take pity on the dog and let him stay. Her father does, and Opal has her first friend in her new town.

Soon afterward, Winn-Dixie seems to help Opal to make friends all over the place. The librarian likes him and lets him come in to hear her stories with Opal. When Opal doesn't have enough money to buy a collar and leash, she brings Winn-Dixie to the pet store and he keeps her and the manager company while she sweeps the store in exchange for credit. An old woman whom some children say is a witch takes a liking to Winn-Dixie and Opal realizes that she is just lonely and coping with past memories. Perhaps most importantly of all, though, is that Winn-Dixie's presence gives Opal the courage to ask her father about her mother, and he helps her to understand a little better what might have happened between them.

I liked that the characters in this story were so vivid, and that each of them seemed to be fighting off some sort of loneliness or bad feeling, but they all found ways to deal with it. I also liked the relationship Opal had with her father, and the relationship that formed between him and Winn-Dixie. I would have liked to have seen further development of the friendship between Dunlap and Opal. I could see the start of something between them, but I wish I had been able to have seen more of how they would relate to each other.

Becuse of Winnie Dixie.......2007-06-02

THE BOOK THAT I READ IS BECUSE OF WINNIE DIXIE IT WAS A GOOD BOOK.
IT WAS ABOUT A GIRL WHO GOES TO THE GROCERY STORE TO GO BUY TOMATOES AND OTHER VEGTABLES. THEN SUDDENLY SHE SEES EVERY THING FALLING. SHE DIDNT SEE ANYTHING AND PEOPLE ARE SAYING THAT A DOG IS MAKING ALL THE FRUITS AND VEGTABLES FALL BECAUSETHE DOG WAS RUNNING AROUND AND THEN THE GIRL OPAL SEES THE DOG AND THEN THE MANEGER CAME OUT AND YELLED WHO LET THE DOG IN THIS GROCERY STORE AND THE ALL THE WORKERS CAME AROUND THE MANEGER
AND THEN THE DOG RAN ON TOP OF THE MANEGER AND WAS LICKING THE MANEGER
THEN THE MANEGER SAID CALL THE POUND THEN OPAL SAID THAT IT WAS HER DOG BUT IT WASNT HEARS AND THEN SHE CALLED HIM SHE SAID COME HEAR WINNIE DIXIE
AND THEN HE CAME TO OPAL LIKE IT WAS HER DOG THEN SHE WENT WALKING HOME WITH WINNIE DIXIE .THE END

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

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History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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